Water has become a major resource challenge for our societies. A total of 780 million people in the world have no access to drinking water inside their homes, 2,600 million people have no access to sanitation and one-third of water transported is lost through leaks.
Coupled with this, climate change is leading to fundamental changes in the hydrological cycle, with the result of more water-related risks, less water for people, rising impacts on economies and ecosystems and growing vulnerability.
To maintain the quality of our lives, the stability of the eco-systems and our economies,fundamental changes are needed in the way we handle water across all segments of society.
In view of all this, water education, training of water professionals, integration of all water users and beneficiaries and governance are the biggest challenges we have as we design and implement proper policies for water.
Where much of the water challenge is man-made, such as wastage, irrational use, lack of cooperation and communication, there is a lot of potential for innovation, not only in the technological sense but equally importantly in the systematic application of sound governance principles, such as rule of law, accountability, transparency, integrity, informed decisions, knowledge transfer, public participation that can yield significant results and bring about the necessary change.
Fundamental changes are needed in the way we handle water across all segments of society
We have to adopt new ways of doing things, change our consumption habits and encourage the implementation of new solutions to imagine alternative water resources.
We need to introduce vital elements of best practice in water management to optimise usage and preserve water resources for the future.
Governments, water utilities, NGOs and educational institutions must act hand in hand, making sure that people become acquainted with the challenges and change behaviours towards the water challenges before irreversible damage is made.
We, at Paragon Europe, think that every little bit helps and that positive action is the way forward.
We believe that innovation is not just a trendy word but actually means something tangible and not necessarily costly.
We truly believe that stakeholder engagement – public and private organisations, NGOs, the community – need to be brought and work together. We believe that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, that the best practices are there and we should collaborate with those who have them.
We believe that resources are there in terms of national and EU funds but they need to be properly optimised.
And we believe that SMEs should be leading the initiative while governments ensure a support ecosystem of finance, regulation and infrastructures.
This week, Paragon will be doing its part as it hosts the Malta Water Week today, an international conference that will see the direct participation of over 30 local and international speakers, all leaders in their respective areas. Most of them will be travelling to Malta purposely to address issues of best practice when it comes to water management and how best to address current challenges and bring innovation in this very important sector.
The speakers are all considered leading experts in their respective fields.
Together, we will be addressing some of the most pressing topics such as smart water infrastructures, innovative water technologies, water reuse, water education and innovative financial solutions in water management.
The participants to the Water Week understand the relevance of holding such an event in Malta because our country has significant water challenges and, although we have become accustomed to having easy access to water in our homes, for our agricultural and industrial needs and recreational purposes, the fact remains that there is a burgeoning physical shortage.
We are confident that the presentations will be inspirational in offering innovative solutions to the challenges we face and we see that these solutions could be a business opportunity to Maltese SMEs to seek collaborations with other SMEs participating in the event.
The second day of Malta Water Week will be dedicated to the more practical issues where participants will have the opportunity to learn more about cluster activation and participation with testimonials from leading European water clusters, coaching and mentoring of business ideas for investment brokerage and EU project development and B2B meetings.
In this day and age, we have the technological solutions to make a difference; we need to know these solutions and apply them to achieve efficient water operations to protect resources, increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve customer service and satisfaction, and make cities smarter and more resilient.
Last but not least, this conference will be a great opportunity to highlight the great strides that Malta has made in the water sector, especially in the field of desalination technology, drip irrigation and waste water treatment.
Equally interesting are the current initiatives in industrial water reuse, artificial aquifer recharge and water management.
These are important testimonies that Malta is already practising innovation and that the country has all it takes to become a hub for innovation.
Anton Theuma is managing director of Paragon Europe, a Maltese-EU business advisory company.